Looking for a recommendation - must be easy to remove

isdoo

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Hi,

Visiting the USA soon and would like to purchase a dashcam to record not only possible incidents, but also to record some journeys.

Needs to be easily removed from the car as it will be a convertible.

Also needs to be powered by the cigarette lighter socket (not sure if all are)

Finally needs to be easily obtained - probably amazon prime where I can get it delivered to our hotel for collection when we arrive.

Are there any that will also run from the mains (US socket is fine) - doubt there is, but could double up as webcam for other remote situations, like hotel rooms!

Thanks.
 
Most cams are easily removed as long as you use a suction mount

The only problem with filming in a convertible is wind noise, unless you need it on you might as well turn audio it off

Most cams if not all power from cig lighter

When are you going US and where you travelling from?

Some cams can be used as webcams when you take memory card out

Have you got a budget? Or idea of what one you want?
 
I suggest a Mobius. Review...


Tiny... keep it in your pocket...

CIMG6214.JPG

Only $69 from http://stores.ebay.com/eletoponline365

With Velcro (supplied), you can stick it on the dashboard or perch it on top of the rear view mirror, etc.

Can be powered from lighter socket via USB cable & USB socket adapter. Internal battery power good for about 80 minutes for use as action cam. Can be recharged from any USB port including USB mains plug adapter.

Can be used as webcam, but video only... no audio in webcam mode.

In case you think such a small & cheap camera cannot deliver great video, here's some raw footage (3 minute clips) from my Mobius (wide angle lens model B), recorded at Medium bitrate.

https://mega.co.nz/#!FB9nDZJa!G4fUX0UXj12GiI5YVxlfIF5jJgEmmUxHjRYH9iXJThU

https://mega.co.nz/#!dJMVRAhC!ICKNnz5xJbF1_JOgZ5a7QW41oh9tur5xIX5XAC-Fpjw
 
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Thanks - will not be in the UK before being in the USA, otherwise would order from the UK.

So needs to be ideally a US delivered product.

I will also want to use it for my own car back in Europe/ UK

Will be in April - no real budget, just need something half decent. Don't mind paying a bit more for a better quality.
 
The ONLY downside is not knowing what you are aiming it at - so you need a screen of some sort (don't these link to smartphones somehow?), especially as the cam is taken in and out all the time.
Also, remember it's going in a hire car - they might not be so pleased to see sticky residue from velcro on their dash/mirror.
 
Thanks - will not be in the UK before being in the USA, otherwise would order from the UK.

So needs to be ideally a US delivered product.

I will also want to use it for my own car back in Europe/ UK

Will be in April - no real budget, just need something half decent. Don't mind paying a bit more for a better quality.

If your leaving in April I suggest you order from:

https://joovuu.com/store/index.php?id_product=14&controller=product

It's a UK vendor and you will receive it much quicker, I wouldn't chance with sending it to hotel
 
Thanks - but I will not be back in the UK, so not an option :(

Looking for some sort of suction mount, I guess - I have my phone on one, but obviously can't leave it in place in a convertible, especially if the top is down :)

I will need it to record for a good 2 or 3+ hours before overwriting - I assume this is governed more by the size of the card.

I have had items shipped by Amazon to my hotel before now ready for my arrival, so not too worried, especially on Prime. The hotel say it is fine as well.

Thanks.
 
I second the Mobius due to its size, ease of mounting, quality and ability to take it out of the car and use it as an action camera. As Russ said, you can record 80 mins on its battery.

It can record 4 hours of 1080/30 video on a 32gb card and can be run from a USB cigarette lighter adapter that you can buy cheap.

There are many US sellers, like SpyTec (physical store, spytecinc.com or Ebay) in NY and BuyMobius (BuyMobius.com) in MA or Novotm (same as BuyMobius) on Amazon.
 
If you will be in or near New York check out Spytec who has a physical location in New York NY.

I use something like this to run a CB radio wired with a car lead in the house.
Pyramid PS9KX Power Supply
 
Hire companies are probably accustomed to finding sticky residue in their cars...

3M clear double sided tape ( 1mm thick ) has strong hold, however its quite easy to remove. Kinda rolls down if you "push" it with thumb and doesnt leave any marks behind.
 
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Thanks.

Will look at Mobius.

4 hours recording would be great :)
 
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Thanks.

Will look at Mobius.

4 hours recording would be great :)

Mobius has 3 bitrate (video data rate) settings - low, standard and high. Subjectively, I cannot detect any difference in video quality between standard and high settings.

These bitrates are variable, & the number of hours of recording will vary according to the brightness of the day, etc.

I've just checked the most recent recordings on my 16GB card at standard bitrate. 46 files each of 3 minute duration = 138 Minutes. 2 files were <3 minutes duration (switched off car engine), so total = 135 minutes.

If I'd been using a 32GB card, I would've had approximately 270 minutes of recording time = 4 hours 30 minutes. But, as stated above, actual recording time will vary from day to day, according to prevailing conditions.
 
Thanks - will probably opt for the Mobius.

Appreciate all the help.

Fingers crossed I can have a video recorded of a couple of our US road trips :)
 
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